Reading course on The Serious Leisure Perspective

Occasionally, I offer to iSchool students a reading course on the ﻿Serious Leisure Perspective﻿ (SLP), a theoretical framework of leisure. Usually, participants have already been introduced to the SLP through the INF1005/6 workshop on The Liberal Arts Hobby. Together, readers follow a Reading Guide and attend Discussion Group meetings. Hopefully, in the future this reading course will evolve into a seminar on the SLP and its information dimension.

Course description

From the Faculty of Information's Academic Regulations: Reading courses serve as a way to meet the needs of individual students who wish to explore topics not covered by courses currently offered at the iSchool. They are categorized as elective courses, and are subject to the same regulations as other elective courses. Reading Courses require that student and instructor meet regularly and frequently; therefore, both must be available for meetings on campus. The written work of a Reading Course is comparable to that of other elective courses.

Course objectives

In this reading course on the Serious Leisure Perspective (SLP), a theoretical framework of leisure, students will develop:

• Understanding of the SLP including its: intellectual history; strengths and weaknesses as a theoretical framework; application as a classification system; and main types (casual leisure, serious pursuits, project-based leisure) and sub-types. • Familiarity with social scientific concepts related to the SLP (social world, lifestyle, flow, and recreation specialization).

• Expertise in one specialized leisure activity and/or population (varies per student) within the SLP and an ability to approach it as a research object. • Knowledge of the positive turn in the social sciences and its implications for scholarship. • Awareness of research and collaboration at the intersection of the fields of leisure studies and information studies. • Cognizance of the emerging literature in information studies about leisure. • Enhanced skill in academic practice and increased confidence as a junior scholar.

Instructional methods

As a reading course the primary activity is independent student reading and reflection, guided by the instructor. The course is supplemented with learning exercises; bimonthly meetings of a peer discussion group; a visit by the architect of the SLP, Robert A. Stebbins; online searching and literature reviews; and a bibliographical final assignment. The schedule for the semester loosely follows the intellectual history of the SLP. Assigned readings favor original publications by Stebbins; later synthesis and alternative perspectives are provided for contrast.